Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata
by stargazingeyes
Summary: I don't know what I want anymore. And the girl sighs, her story fluttering lightly on the summer breeze.
1. Shinsou SeppanHisakata

**Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata**

_Chapter One: Shinsou Seppan-Hisakata_

Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic, ever, and all my Japanese is obtained from anime episodes and This means that any Japanese words that are used are probably in incorrect grammar and possibly even the wrong words. So… criticism of any kind, as well as corrections, are welcome.

The title of this story, _Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata_, is supposed to mean "Face of the Sun, Eyes of the Moon". This chapter title ought to be translated into "Half-Moon Truths". (More likely it's come out as Truth Moon Halves, or something.) And I'm pretty sure _gommennasai _is a formal or very sincere apology; _hime_ is princess; and _oba-chan_ means aunt.

The story is about, if you didn't read the summary (you did read the summary though, riiight?) several rivalries, two loves, one friendship, one sand, one water, one fire, and many other things that can't be numericized (not a word, I know). More directly, it's the larger-than-life story about a timid girl who finds a love she's never known, the impenetrable boy who awakens her heart, and the best friend who comes between them. It's also about a shady past hiding between an elderly caregiver, secrets, and the biggest betrayals of all.

Enjoy and, if you like, please read and review!

_A laugh rang out under the blazing Konoha sun._

_"Come _on_, Nari!" a girl cried._

_Shielding her eyes from the sun's glare, Nari squinted up into the interlacing web of treetops. "Miko-chan, are you crazy? We just had lunch! And I'm afraid of heights! And I can't climb!"_

_Miko swung down easily from a branch, a cheeky grin splitting her tanned face. "Don't be so _paranoid_! You really need to relax sometimes, Nari." With that, she catapulted herself back up into the foliage._

_Nari sighed and began to heave herself up after her friend, her ramen meal already stirring unpleasantly in her stomach. Why couldn't Miko ever do anything nice and safe, like… like reading, or drawing? Sometimes it was hard being best friend to the self-proclaimed Wild Child of Konoha, especially when you were used to pouring tea for and chatting about life with your elderly aunt, as was the case with Nari. _I'm fifteen_, she reminded herself. _Soon I won't even be living with Auntie. I should be at home now, taking care of her.

_Hopping onto a sturdy limb, Nari peered around for her friend. "Miko-chan?" Nervously, she shimmied to the branch's end, looking down … just in time to see Miko plummeting to the ground with a small cry of horror._

Nari couldn't stop replaying the terrible scene in her mind as she clutched Miko's hand tightly, the too-small hospital room seeming to spin before her eyes. _I'm claustrophobic_, a small part of her cried, but a larger part worried for Miko, whose eyelids fluttered faintly as she absorbed her surroundings.

"Nari," the girl mumbled painfully, "this doesn't look like my tree."

Nari was too scared to laugh. "Miko-chan! How are you feeling? You had a nasty fall."

"I feel like I was just run over by a truck and skewered over a bonfire," Miko replied honestly, if not a bit dramatically. Even in the worst of situations Miko couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Geez, these walls are the most hideous colour I've ever seen in my life," she continued conversationally. "Did someone –"

Her tirade was interrupted by the arrival of a nurse carrying a clipboard. "Miko! Back so soon?" she asked, recognizing the injured teen. "It's only been six months since you scorched yourself toasting marshmallows."

"Oh, you know how I love it here, Reika," Miko laughed.

Reika sighed. "According to the x-ray, you've fractured a bone in your right leg and dislocated your shoulder." She paused for effect and added, "You're extremely lucky you didn't break anything more than that."

"I always make it a point to land on anything but my neck," Miko explained semi-seriously. She turned to Nari, who was rolling her eyes, and smiled, "Hey, thanks for getting me here. I owe you one, okay? I'll take you out for sashimi some time – your favourite. Now, don't you have an aunt in desperate need of more tea waiting for you?"

Nari understood from Miko's pained look that she wanted some time alone, so, seizing her windbreaker, she made her quick escape. Out in the waiting room, though, she couldn't help but shed tears of relief as she sank into a stiff chair. _Why didn't I stop her?_ she thought miserably, remembering the absolute terror that had overcome her as Miko had fallen past. _She could have died_. The word echoed agonizingly in her head and she shook her head to get it out. To her surprise, through her blurry vision she saw what looked like a tissue perched on a floating fountain of sand. _I must be going out of my mind_, she thought, rubbing her eyes.

But when she opened them again, the mound was still there. Looking up, her eyes met those of a redheaded boy her age, staring impatiently at her. "Well, are you going to take it or not?" he asked, gesturing at the tissue.

"Oh!" said Nari in surprise, gingerly taking the tissue. "Thank you." She stared in amazement as the heap of sand reclined and shrank back into a large gourd strapped to the boy's back. She extended a shaking hand. "My name is Hikime Nari."

"Gaara," the boy replied simply, ignoring Nari's outstretched hand.

"Why are you here?" Nari inquired politely.

"I don't see how that's your business," Gaara answered curtly.

"Ah… _gomennasai_." Nari stood up quickly and bowed slightly, feeling snubbed. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Gaara-sama, but I'm afraid I've got to go. Perhaps I'll see you again another time?"

Gaara humphed noncomittically, but Nari, though she never looked back, could have sworn she felt a pair of turquoise eyes on her back as she walked swiftly down the street.

"I feel so terrible for Miko," Nari repeatedly distressedly through a mouth full of onigiri. It was slightly underdone, and she reminded herself to focus more next time she was cooking. If Auntie noticed flaws in her food, she'd complain.

Her aunt dismissed the comment with a wave of her ringless hand. "If you ask me," she snorted derisively, "That girl had it coming all along. Wild Child, indeed!"

Auntie had always maintained that Miko was a bad influence on Nari, never calling Miko anything other than "that girl", or to her face, "girl". According to her, Miko wasn't ladylike, or well-behaved towards her elders. Secretly, Nari agreed, but that just made her admire Miko all the more. Anyhow, it gave Nari a twisted satisfaction knowing that she was rebellious enough to defy her aunt in that manner.

"But enough about that girl," Auntie continued, never one to linger on a topic. "I have decided that you something more to occupy your time other than running around the city like some homeless fool. That's why I've signed you up to work this summer as an aide to the Fifth Hokage herself. The pay is meager, but hopefully you will learn something to put into that thick skull of yours."

"But, _oba-chan_!" Nari protested. "Don't you have to be a ninja to do that?"

"Pfft!" Auntie almost choked on her tea. "There will be no mention of… of _those people_ in this household!" She calmed down. "You will help Tsunade-sama's assistant, Shizune-san, with paperwork. _That is all, you understand?_" Spittle flew from Auntie's parched mouth.

Nari nodded, cowering. "Yes, _oba-chan_."

Auntie sighed. "Now go on up to bed. Work starts tomorrow, and you need your sleep."

But long after lights were out and Auntie's snores wafted from the next room, Nari lay awake, staring out her bedroom window. Why couldn't she stand up for herself sometimes? It wasn't even like Auntie was her actual aunt. She was her father's aunt – her parents had been killed long ago, an event which Auntie always refused to discuss. And _Nari_ wasn't her real name either – all it meant was "a sum of money"; what Auntie had hoped taking the child in would bring. It didn't, of course, and Nari became the breadwinner for the two, drilling holes into Auntie's dead husband's willed money.

Nari didn't want to work for the Hokage, however great a woman she might be, and however much she might need the work. She'd been looking forward for a relatively quiet, nice summer with Miko – whose own, absolutely biological name meant "sorceress", or "shrine maiden" – at her side. But Miko wouldn't be out of the hospital for another week, and what if she still couldn't walk or move her arm by then? Miko had promised a day at the pond to try out the small boat the two girls had built – dubbed the _Hime_ – "Only the finest for the finest," Miko had grinned. Like everything else Miko prodded her to do it sounded scary, but Nari didn't mind this time. Water was one thing she liked; it was her element.

She thought about the boy in the waiting room, whom she hadn't told Auntie about. Likely her _oba-chan_ would label him as a demon boy, but Nari disagreed. She was fascinated by the way Gaara could manipulate sand, the way it answered his call. Frankly, though, the enigma himself came across to her as rude and exclusive. _Too bad I won't be seeing him again_, Nari sighed as she drifted into sleep…_I really would like to find out how he does that._


	2. Kasumi Akiraka

**Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata**

_Chapter Two: Kasumi Akiraka_

Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic, ever, and all my Japanese is obtained from anime episodes and This means that any Japanese words that are used are probably in incorrect grammar and possibly even the wrong words. So… criticism of any kind, as well as corrections, are welcome.

The title of this story, _Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata_, is supposed to mean "Face of the Sun, Eyes of the Moon". This chapter title ought to be translated into "Clear Mist".

The story is about, if you didn't read the summary (you did read the summary though, riiight?) several rivalries, two loves, one friendship, one sand, one water, one fire, and many other things that can't be numericized (not a word, I know). More directly, it's the larger-than-life story about a timid girl who finds a love she's never known, the impenetrable boy who awakens her heart, and the best friend who comes between them. It's also about a shady past hiding between an elderly caregiver, secrets, and the biggest betrayals of all.

Enjoy and, if you like, please read and review!

_For the first time in a long time, it was raining in Konoha._

_Nari hurried through the streets, a paper-thin black umbrella shielding herself. She wondered why there was no one else outside, or even any lights on in the houses. It wasn't terribly rainy, and it wasn't all that early in the morning, either. Besides, there ought to be a lot of people where she was going._

_Where _was_ she going?_

_She stopped uncertainly, and stared into the mist, where a familiar figure was emerging – a slender girl with waist-length oak hair and an accusing gaze. It was Miko! Miko stepped forward and, seeing Nari, her eyes widened._

_"What's wrong, Miko?" asked Nari uncertainly._

_"Monster!" screamed Miko in terror, backing away, back into the fog, crying, "Stay away from me!"_

_"Wait!" pleaded Nari, and a form re-emerged, but this time it was… Auntie?_

_Auntie shoved a finger shakily and angrily at Nari. "What have you become, you demon? Don't you dare come back to my household, you hear?" Her last words were drowned out as a gigantic wave suddenly crashed over the buildings surrounding them and swept Auntie away. _Did I do that? _Nari wondered, staring at her rain-soaked hands._

_When she looked up again, Gaara was standing before her wordlessly, a hand gently outstretched. _Come with me_, his eyes demanded. As soon as Nari's hand met his, his image flickered and disappeared._

_In his place was a mirror-Nari, appraising herself coldly. Mirror-Nari bent down to Nari and laughed tonelessly. "Look what you've done, you fool…"_

Nari woke up in the comfort of her own futon, sweating although she'd unconsciously kicked her blankets off. What an awful dream! But just a dream, thank _Kami-sama_. _I haven't had a nightmare since I was four or five years old,_ Nari realized. _That's a bit more than a decade ago_.

She tried to shrug the dream off as she changed from her nightgown to her mother's old, beautiful white kimono, the only thing of her mother's that she owned, along with an ivory comb in the shape of a howling wolf. The kimono was reserved for special occasions, but Nari wanted to make a good impression on the Fifth Hokage. Tying a wide obi belt around her small waist, Nari looked at herself in the mirror.

_I wonder if I look like my mother_, she speculated, not for the first time. With her short stature and delicate features, Nari could almost be mistaken for beautiful. But her neck-length raven hair, too thin for her slightly angular face, and too-wide eyes, which made her look like a deer in headlights, soon discouraged the illusion. Nari didn't mind not being pretty, although she knew Miko was. She was simply glad to possess any features that her parents had.

Boys had flocked to Miko in elementary school. Miko often had a new boyfriend every week, whom she'd rant and rave about the first few days. By Friday, though, she'd do nothing but complain, and it was always her who did the breaking up, not the other way round. Every time this happened, Miko would sigh dramatically to Nari, "Men will come and go, Nari, but you'll always be my unnofficial _shisuta_." Nari always felt secretly thrilled that Miko considered her a sister. She didn't understand Miko's obsession with the guys who were obsessed with her, but she didn't mind putting up with them. Some of them were actually quite nice, and she'd even befriended a few.

Nari hurried downstairs, almost forgetting to turn off the tap after brushing her teeth. She grabbed her agonizingly light (read: almost moneyless) wallet and called to her aunt in the kitchen, "I'm leaving!"

"What about breakfast?" Auntie called. (She didn't mean "What about _you_ having breakfast?", she meant "What about _you making me_ breakfast?".)

"There's bread and butter lying around somewhere in there," Nari shouted back, closing the door behind her. The fresh morning air whipped her hair around as she walked, and she stopped by a ramen stall for a small beef udon, using up half her month's meager allowance already. She was still eating as she arrived at the Hokage Building, but she deposited her unfinished udon before going in.

A spiky-haired boy her age was leaning against the wall, seemingly asleep. "Um, _ohayo_," she ventured.

The boy's eyes opened and he looked at his watch and swore. "_Mendokuse_, late again," he muttered, "Tsunade-sama'll have my guts." He eyed Nari. "Can I help you?"

"I – I'm the new paperwork assistant for Shizune-sama," Nari stammered.

"A bit dressed up for watching the Hokage sleep, aren't you?" he noted dryly. "Follow me, then."

Blushing, Nari trailed after him as he lead her to the top floor and knocked on a door.

"Come in!" someone cried regally inside, and the door was pulled open.

The Hokage stared at the pair for a moment and said dully to Nari's companion, "Oh, it's you, Shikamaru. I thought I told you not to bring your girlfriends here. After Temari –"

"She's not my girlfriend," Shikamaru protested, reddening. "Claims to be Shizune-san's new assistant, or something."

Shizune stepped forward, smiling. "You must be Nari-chan. I'm Shizune, Tsunade-sama's assistant. You'll be helping me with the mountains of unfortunate paperwork around here. We'll be working on the third floor." Shizune started off down the hall.

Nari bowed at the remaining two. "It was an honour to meet you, Hokage-sama, Shikamaru-sama."

Tsunade's raucous laughter followed her out. "Shikamaru-_sama_, eh? Are you sure she's not-" The door clicked quietly behind them.

"Tsunade-sama can be a little… loudmouthed sometimes," Shizune admitted as the two alphabetized papers from past missions. "And she tends to spend a lot of time drinking and gambling. Other than that, though, she's really a good person."

Nari wondered what Auntie would think if she knew the respected Hokage was a drinker and a gambler. All she said, though, was "What's it like to be… a ninja?"

"A ninja?" Shizune repeated in surprise. "Well, I wouldn't know, really, other than what my jounin friends tell me. But from what I hear, it's a hard and dangerous job. Sometimes even the most skilled ninja don't return from missions at all."

This reminded Nari of something, but she couldn't remember what. Instead, she asked shyly, "Did you ever want to become a ninja, Shizune-san?"

"I can't say I did," Shizune replied slowly. "I mean, I grew up around all my friends who did. They loved the excitement, the thrill. I think I found that a bit intimidating." Turning away, Shizune recovered a stack of folders. "Hey, would you do me a favour and bring these down to the Kazekage? He's just staying in the hotel across the street. I think these are some kind of intercity relations documents."

"T-the _Kazekage_? As in, from Sunakagure?" Nari inquired in disbelief. "You want _me_ to deliver documents to the Kazekage? I don't even know what he looks like!"

Shizune nodded, laughing. "He won't _bite_, silly. Just say they're from the Hokage and leave. Pretty simple. He's the only one staying in Room 206, so you'll recognize him right away."

Nari's heart pounded as she crossed the street to the aforementioned hotel. Two kages in a day? She knocked on the door of the room number Shizune had given him… and was shocked when Gaara answered.

"G-Gaara-sama? _You're_ the Kazekage?" Nari cried in surprise.

"Do I know you?" Gaara said blankly.

"I'm the girl from the hospital. I'm Tsunade-sama's assistant's assistant. She told me to give you this." Nari shoved the bundle at him.

Gaara flipped through the papers, and Nari turned to leave, unsure of what to say. "Have a nice day, Gaara-sama. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Konoha." Blushing profusely – _I sounded like some sort of hotel receptionist!_ – Nari all but scrambled out of the hotel.

Back home, she sank into her futon upstairs and sighed. _I hope Shizune-san wasn't expecting me to report back to her before taking my day's leave_, she worried. All in all, it hadn't been a terrible day, except for seeing Gaara again. _That_ was just unnerving. Nari wasn't one to judge, but Gaara really did not seem like a responsible and dependable _person_, let alone Kazekage.

The door downstairs creaked open, and Nari heaved herself up. That would be Auntie, no doubt, returning home from a get-together with her equally old friends. And of course in a moment Auntie would be yelling for Nari to come and collect Auntie's coat, or hear the amazing tale her friend had told about a shopkeeper. Nari decided to save her aunt some voice and trooped downstairs. Someone met her with cold eyes at the doorway.

It wasn't Auntie.


End file.
